Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
by EmilyAnnCoons
Summary: The story of Majora's Mask...told from the eyes of the NPCs. Rated T for violence, sexual themes, and language.
1. The Skullkid

**Chapter 1: The Skullkid  
**

"This makes me so happy!" the Skullkid shouted as he rolled along the ground, a big smile on his scarecrow-like face. His big red eyes looked up at four large giants that were surrounding him. The giants were massive, having a large head that seemed to be the majority of their body. They had green hair that was groomed to the sides with long green beards. From the sides of their heads, where their ears should have been, they had two large arms, while connected directly to the bottom of their heads were two massive legs.

"We are happy that you are happy," one of the giants spoke as it looked down at the scarecrow-like creature at its feet.

Skullkid slowly stood to his feet, brushing off his robe that was made of leaves and ended at his short and stubby legs. "What can we do now, huh?" he asked, excited. "This is the first time I've had any kind of friends before."

"Whatever you want to do," one of the giants spoke as it bent down, reaching its hand out.

Skullkid quickly hopped on the giants hand and it rose him up. The creature was so tall he could see over the wall of Clocktown that separated the town from the rest of Termina Field.

"Everything looks so small from up here!" Skullkid shouted, even more excited now. He waved down at the citizens of Clocktown below. "I'm so glad I met you guys." He hugged the giant's hand, and the giant smiled as it looked up at the others.

"We are happy that you are happy," one of the other giants spoke and from there the five resumed playing their games.

. . .

"Citizens of Clocktown!" one of the giants spoke as it stood in front of Clocktown, its voice booming out loudly. "We have all come with a very important message for you all." The Citizens of Clocktown stopped in their tracks, staring up at the giants high above them. Each was eager to hear what their guardians had to say.

"For some time, we have guarded Clocktown against all of your enemies. Termina, now, is at peace, however. As such, we guardians are no longer needed. However, we shall not completely forsake you. Each of us will take one hundred steps in each direction. We will then lie there in wait for the time when we are needed once more. Should the time come when we are needed, call out to us and we shall appear."

"Wait!" Skullkid shouted immediately. "Y-you can't leave!"

"I'm sorry, little one," one of the giants spoke as it turned to the Skullkid. "This is how it must be." The giant turned to the others and gave a nod. They opened their mouths and sang a beautiful song as their last gift to Clocktown. With that, they each turned, stepping away from Clocktown. One went a hundred steps into the north, towards the mountains; another took a hundred steps south, towards the ocean. The third took one hundred steps to the west, into the swampland of Woodfall, while the last took one hundred steps to the east, heading to the Ikana Canyon.

"Wait…" Skullkid spoke as he huffed himself up. His body began to shake as he found himself void of friends once more, for this wasn't the first time. He had come from the Lost Woods, and there no one would be his friend. He had found his way to Termina, and here he had found friends with these giants, but now, they were leaving him? They didn't even care? They wouldn't stop, no matter what he said? His sadness turned to anger. "Fine then, then I'll just be by myself," he spoke and turned, heading off into the swampland.

. . .

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Take that!" Skullkid shouted as he tossed a small Deku Nut forward. It struck the ground next to a young girl and exploded into a flash of light that made the girl scream.

"Get away from us!" an adult woman shouted, but the Skullkid just grinned.

Another Deku Nut shot out of the Skullkid's hand, striking right next to the adult woman this time, which made her jump back. "Come now, my friends!" he shouted and pulled out a small flute made of wood. He blew into it and at once, seemingly from out of nowhere, four puppets fashioned similar to the Skullkid appeared. Though they were puppets, they had no strings, and were commanded by magic. The Skullkid began to play his flute and the puppets shot out through Clocktown.

The Skullkid began to laugh as he watched the puppets causing chaos – destroying shops and attacking innocent citizens. "Yes, my friends! Go out and create chaos and mischief!" he shouted and began to laugh once again.

"Imp!" the Skullkid heard someone shout and he turned. There stood a man dressed in a suit of purple armor with gold trimming. A spear was in his hand and his helmet had a golden crest of a mask upon it.

"Yes?" the Skullkid asked.

"I command you to leave this town, now, or face the wrath of the Guards of Clocktown."

The Skullkid growled and blew his flute once more, causing four more puppets to appear in front of him. "Get them, my friends!" he shouted and the puppets shot forward. One of them quickly struck the guard in the face before he could react, and the rest surrounded him quickly. The guard growled as he stabbed one of the puppets with his spear, but it did nothing as it was made purely of wood. The Skullkid laughed once again as the puppets pummeled the guard, beating him senseless until he was left on the ground, completely unconscious.

The Skullkid smiled as he stepped over to the guard and began to check through the man's pack. However, he found nothing of interest in the man's pack and stepped away from him. "Let's go, friends! Let's have even more fun!"

"The guards can't even stop him…" one of the Clocktown citizens spoke. "What do we do?"

"There's only one possible option…" a man in a purple outfit spoke. He pulled out a small ocarina and looked up into the sky. He closed his eyes and began to play into the ocarina. The Skullkid turned when he heard the song, his eyes rather wide. He grabbed his head and began to scream as he flailed all around.

At that moment, there was a loud sound, as if a great voice was calling out in response to the song. The ground began to shake and the Skullkid began to flail about even more as soon three other voices called out in response as well. It took only a minute more before the giants stepped forward from their lands and towards Clocktown.

"Th-they came back?" Skullkid asked as he looked up at the giants that now surrounded Clocktown.

"What is going on?" one of the giants' voice boomed out.

"This imp has been causing trouble in our fair town of Clocktown!" the man in purple spoke. "He has refused to leave no matter what we have done, and our guards are no match for his wooden puppets."

The giants roared loudly and the Skullkid quickly ducked his head between his legs. "Skullkid!" one of the giants shouted, his voice booming over the entire area. "For your evil deeds, we hereby exile you from Clocktown!"

"N-no!" the Skullkid shouted, looking back up at the giants.

"You have caused trouble, and you do not belong here as such." One of the giants reached down and picked the Skullkid up by the back of his robe. "Now, get out of here!"

"H-how can you be so mean?" the Skullkid asked, tears now forming in his eyes. "We were friends…we played together…"

"Get out now…" the giant spoke with no remorse in his voice and flung the Skullkid away. He crashed into the ground not too far away. He was unharmed, but dazed. "If you return, we will take even more drastic measures then this."

"I…I hate you!" the Skullkid shouted as he stood to his feet. "I hate you all!" He then rushed off, running into the swamplands of Woodfall.

The giants stopped for a moment as they turned to look at each other. They shook their heads, and then looked down, sadness showing in their face. "We now return to our individual lands. If you have need of us again, simply call out to us once more." They once again sang their song as they turned away, returning to their individual homes.

. . .

"H-how could they be so mean?" the Skullkid asked as he sat under a rather large log. His legs were pulled up to his chest, and he had his face buried in his legs as tears flowed from his eyes. "We were friends…first, they left me…and now…they come back just to yell at me and throw me around? Do they really not care for me anymore?" There was the sound of thunder and the Skullkid looked up. Rain began to pour down, and he turned back to his legs. "Now it's raining and cold…"

The Skullkid began to shiver as he continued to cry, but little did he know, not far away, two small fairies were making their way towards his location.

"Tael! We need to find cover!" the yellow, female fairy spoke as she looked around.

"But where do we go, Tatl?" the purple, male fairy asked as he flew up to his sister.

Tatl turned and pointed towards a rather large log. "There, if we go under there, we'll have protection from this rain." Tael nodded and Tatl quickly grabbed her brother's hand and flew as quickly as she could towards the log. She pulled a quick ninety degree turn as she shot into the log and sighed with relief. "We made it…but we're soaked…" she looked down at her outfit, which was composed of, what looked similar to, a yellow, strapless bikini.

"Well, at least we're safe from the rain here, and we can dry off here as well."

Tatl nodded and quickly threw off her outfit. "Best at least get out of the wet clothes." Tael nodded and pulled off the pair of purple pants that composed his entire outfit. "We'll just have to wait out the rain…" She flew forward, looking out of the log and staring up at the dark clouds above.

"Sis!" Tael shouted and Tatl quickly whirled around. "Who is that?" He pointed to the Skullkid that still had himself curled up and was still crying.

"I…don't know…" Tatl slowly flew forward, stopping only a few inches from the Skullkid. "Hello…" she spoke. "Is something wrong?"

The Skullkid sniffled as he looked up, now seeing the small fairy in front of him. He jumped back quickly. "Don't hurt me!"

"H-hurt you?" Tatl asked. "How would we hurt you? We're just fairies…"

The Skullkid blinked for a moment, and then rubbed his eyes to clear the tears. "Wh-who are you?"

"My name is Tatl, and this is my brother, Tael. What's your name?"

"S-Skullkid…"

"Is something wrong? You were crying just a moment ago…"

"M-my friends left me…not only that, but they yelled at me and threw me around…" The Skullkid tried to push the tears back and keep himself from crying.

"That's…so sad…" Tatl frowned and looked at Tael. "We'll be your friends if you want. You don't need those mean guys if they're going to do that to you."

"Y-you will?" the Skullkid asked, his eyes going wide with excitement.

Tatl smiled and nodded. "Of course! Isn't that right, Tael?"

"Of course! We'll definitely be your friends!" Tael spoke up.

"T-thank you." The Skullkid reached forward and hugged the two fairies, who smiled and returned the embrace.

When the rain finally cleared, the Skullkid, Tatl, and Tael all headed out from the log. They spent the next several days playing around in the Termina Field, making fun of the slime creatures called Chuchu, or even playing pranks on the Bombchu. Time passed quickly, and soon a traveler from another land made his way to Clocktown.

. . .

"Termina Forest," a man spoke as he walked through a dark forest. Upon his back was a massive bag filled with masks, and even more masks were dangling from the back of the pouch as well. He had short red hair and a funky face. He wore a violet shirt with violet pants and a violet jacket over it all. "It's actually kind of spooky here…"

"BLAH!" Tatl shouted as she suddenly popped up from behind a tree, jumping directly in the man's face.

The man screamed and stumbled backwards. When he regained his balance, he turned to move away from the fairy, only to have Tael fly into his face and scream as well. This sent the man reeling back, slamming into a tree behind him. The tree shook a little and a Deku Nut dropped from the tree, striking the man in the head, exploding in a flash of light. The man staggered forward a moment before collapsing to the ground, falling unconscious.

"Great job!" the Skullkid spoke and smiled as he made his way over to the man. "Wait…this guy…he looks…oddly familiar…" After a moment, he shrugged, not being able to figure out where he had seen him before. The Skullkid then opened the man's pack and his hands began to shake. He felt a dark presence inside of the man's pack, and it only peaked his curiosity.

"I don't know, Skullkid, should we really be stealing from people?" Tatl asked.

"It's fine, it's fine," the Skullkid spoke, quickly blowing her off as he began to search for the presence he was feeling. His body began to shake as he dug deeper into the man's pack, and his eyes went wide as he pulled a mask from the pack. He felt a dark presence pouring from the mask now in his hands.

The mask was heart-shaped in form, but it had several dark colors on its edges, almost like dark runes. Two blood-red eyes seemed to glow on either side of the front of the mask, and the mask seemed to peer into the Skullkid's soul. One the edges were several spike-like lengths that were painted with a mix of several dark shades of yellow, red, and green.

"What…is this?" the Skullkid asked as he stared at the mask. "This mask…it feels…so strange…" He turned the mask around, noting that the eyes seemed transparent from the back. Slowly he raised the mask to his face, and as it touched his face he screamed, feeling a surge of power flow through his body. He collapsed to his knees, panting heavily and Tatl quickly flew to his side.

"Skullkid, are you okay?"

The Skullkid gave a deep chuckle at first, but it then extended out to a deep laugh. "Yes!" he shouted, his voice now deeper than before. "I can feel it…the power surging through my body!" He stood to his feet and laughed once again. "This power…is unimaginable!" He turned and shook his head and one of the trees distorted in an instant, twisting into a knot.

"Sk-Skullkid?" Tatl asked.

"Yes?" the Skullkid asked as he turned to look at Tatl.

"Are you…okay?"

The Skullkid nodded. "Never felt better. This mask…it's giving me power…at long last, I can have my revenge against those who I once called friend…let's go." He turned and his feet seemed to lift off the ground. Tatl stared for a moment before looking to her brother, a look of fear on their faces.

"I guess…we should just…go with him…" Tael spoke before biting his lip. "But…I'm scared…"

"So am I, Tael…so am I…" Tatl spoke before flying forward. The two stuck with the Skullkid as he made his way first to the swampland of Woodfall.

"Let's test this mask's power…" the Skullkid spoke and he began to shake his head once more. At once, the water that formed a small river in Woodfall shifted to a dark purple, becoming deadly poison. He laughed as he flew forward to the Temple of Woodfall, where he entered and faced the first of his foes.

There, inside, one of the giants slept quietly. The Skullkid shook his head once more and dark power gripped the giant. A dark tribal mask appeared implanted itself onto the giant's face. The mask then seemed to spread out from there and corrupt the giant's body until he was transformed into a tall warrior, wearing the tribal mask upon his face and wielding a large sword and shield.

The Skullkid laughed loudly at this. "Yes! This power is amazing!" he shouted before twirling around until he was facing the entrance to the temple. "Three more." He flew forward and Tatl and Tael had to fight to keep up with him. The Skullkid traveled from there to the mountains next, transforming the giant there into a mechanical masked goat, which then brought forward a terrible blizzard upon the mountain range.

The third he touched was the giant in the ocean, transforming him into massive fish which brought up a terrible storm in the ocean. Finally, he headed to the Ikana Canyon, where he threw upon the doors of the Stone Tower and transformed the giant there into two massive worms known as Twinmold. Darkness swept out from Stone Tower after that and corrupt the land of Ikana, turning its denizens into terrible undead.

"This has been so fun!" the Skullkid spoke as he began to float into the city of Clocktown. "Let's see what kind of fun we can have here, shall we?"

"Skullkid…I really don't think we should be doing this kind of thing…" Tatl spoke.

"Nonsense! It's just a bit of harmless fun!" Just as the Skullkid finished his statement, he found himself hitting something, causing him to float backwards a little.

"Watch where you're going!" a man shouted as he looked at the little imp. "Wait a minute…what is a child like you doing out this late? You should be in bed!"

"I don't have a home," the Skullkid spoke rather blankly.

"Well, whatever, just get out of my way." The man pushed the Skullkid aside and began to walk forward.

The Skullkid growled at this and raised his hand. "You…I curse you!" he shouted and shook his head. Dark magic gripped the man and he felt himself changing. His height was the first thing he noticed changing as he seemed to shrink. He felt his face change some, and suddenly he felt younger, about twelve years younger. He had been turned into a child.

"What…what did you do to me?" the man shouted as he whirled around to look at the Skullkid.

The Skullkid laughed. "If you had been nice to me, that wouldn't have happened. Now you're stuck like that!" The Skullkid looked up and shot into the air.

"Come back here! Turn me back!" the man-turned-boy shouted, but Skullkid did not respond. Instead, he just flew up to the top of the clock tower and began to float over it.

"Darkness has befallen Clocktown. Let's have a little more fun, shall we?" he looked up into the sky. He let out a rather high pitched scream as his head shook. It was then that the moon itself was transformed. A massive dark face appeared upon it, with blood red eyes peering down at Clocktown. "Yes! Now, the moon shall fall, and all of Clocktown shall feel my wrath!" He laughed once more and looked down as he watched the citizens of Clocktown running in fear.

The Skullkid then turned to the forest once again. The mask was telling him that someone was coming, someone he needed to see. He quickly flew forward, flying deep into the forest where he found a small horse slowly making her way through the forest. Upon her back sat her master, a young boy, no older then twelve. He was dressed in a tunic the same green as the forest, and he had a long, pointed hat that flopped down behind his head. His blonde hair showed from the front of his hat, and his pointed ears stuck out from the sides of his hat. Strapped to his back was a small sword along with a shield, both designed specifically so that the young boy could wield them with ease. His head was aimed down, his eyes closed, as if wanting to admit defeat.

"Let's have a little fun with this one, shall we?" the Skullkid asked his two fairy companions.

"But Skullkid…" Tatl began before getting a glare from the Skullkid. "Right…" she sighed and looked forward at the boy.

"Strike the horse; make it throw the boy off."

"Right…" Tatl became serious and grabbed Tael's hand. The two flew forward, keeping themselves hidden at first.

"I just don't know anymore…" the boy spoke as he sighed, holding Epona's reigns tight. "Epona…do you think I'm being foolish?" Epona neighed in response, as if saying no. "But…she left so long ago…and I haven't seen her in so long…I don't even understand why she left!" He fought back tears that threatened to pour from his eyes. "She could have at least said something…but she just left…"

Epona neighed once more, as if trying to comfort the small boy who gave a sigh in response. "I miss her…I just wish she'd come back…even if for just a minute…just long enough to explain why she left…"

Suddenly, there was a sound like the fluttering of fairy wings. The boy's sapphire eyes quickly opened and his head darted up, searching the area around him. "Navi? Is that you?" he called out, but he heard nothing. His eyes continued to search around, his heart hoping that he hadn't just heard things. "You heard that noise, didn't you, Epona?" Epona shook her main and the boy looked back down. "Yeah…it was probably my imagination…"

There it was again, the sound of fairy wings. This time it sounded even closer. Link's eyes slowly moved up, examining the forest around him, once again hoping to see something. "Now!" a female voice shouted suddenly Tatl and Tael appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They charged forward, striking Epona in the face which made her reel back. The boy screamed as he felt himself fall from his mount, striking the ground behind him hard and knocking him unconscious.

Quickly, Tatl swirled around Epona, hypnotizing her for a single moment so as to calm her down. She then turned, giving Tael a high-five. "We did it, brother," she spoke with a smile.

"Yeah, Tatl," Tael spoke with a smile. "That was fun."

"Good work, you two," the Skullkid spoke as he held his mask up to better examine the knocked out boy.

"You're going to steal from him now, aren't you, Skullkid?" Tatl asked as she looked at the boy.

"Of course. Just look at him, he's got to have some interesting stuff." Skullkid placed the mask upon his face and began to walk towards the boy.

Tatl sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "But Skullkid…we really shouldn't do this…Scaring people is one thing, and it's fun, but then to turn around and steal from them? Plus, I think we might have hurt this one…"

"Don't get snippy with me!" Skullkid shouted as he turned to Tatl, the eyes of the mask seeming to glow brighter with hatred. Tatl cowered back a bit and her brother flew to her side.

"Sis…don't anger him…" Tael spoke.

Tatl sighed. "Tael…" she spoke as she looked to her brother. "I don't mean to…"

Skullkid turned back to the boy and grabbed a small pouch off of his side. When he opened it, he noticed that the magic of the pouch allowed the boy to stick many large items inside of it and still allow them to fit. "What do we have here?" He reached into the pouch, pulling out a small, blue, sweet potato-style ocarina. Upon the mouth piece was a silver band, and upon the band were three golden triangles, all placed together to form one larger triangle with a small triangle shape missing in the center. "Impressive," he spoke and held the ocarina up.

"Wow! That ocarina is beautiful!" Tatl spoke as she noticed the moonlight was shining off the ocarina in just the right way to give it an almost magical look to it.

The Skullkid lifted his mask and pulled the ocarina up to his mouth. He blew into it, and he sensed an almost magical feel as he played different notes on the ocarina. "Let me give it a try!" Tael spoke up quickly.

"No, Tael!" Tatl shouted, putting her hands on her hips. "What if you drop it and break it, huh? Then what will we do?"

"I wouldn't do that on purpose!"

"Doesn't mean it wouldn't be possible for it to happen."

Tael folded his arms across his chest and he pouted. "You can be so mean sometimes."

Tatl shook her head and wrapped her arms around her brother. "I love you, Tael, I don't want you to do anything stupid that could cause you trouble or hurt you."

"Oh…my head…" the boy spoke as his eyes slowly opened and the fairies quickly turned to look at him. He slowly sat up and the Skullkid quickly pulled the mask down to cover his face. "Who are you?" he asked as he looked at the Skullkid before noticing the ocarina in his hand. "Give me that back…"

The Skullkid looked down at the ocarina, then hid it behind his back. "Give what back?" he asked.

"That ocarina behind your back."

"I don't have an ocarina behind my back."

The boy stepped back, as if getting ready to pounce. "I'll say it one more time. Give me that ocarina back."

"I don't have an ocarina."

The boy had had it and he leaped forward at the Skullkid, wrapping his arms around him to hold him down. As if by magic, the Skullkid slid out of the boy's grasp then landed upon Epona's back. Epona reared back at this sudden strike on her back and rushed forward in fear. "Epona!" the boy shouted and he growled. "Get back here with my ocarina and my horse, you bastard!" he shouted and rushed forward. He pushed against the ground with his legs and leaped forward, managing to grab onto one of Epona's legs. He held on tight as his horse continued to run forward in fear, before the Skullkid forced her to turn sharply, throwing the boy off of her leg.

The boy growled as he stood to his feet. "Damn it! I have to get that ocarina back…Zelda will kill me if I don't." He quickly drew his sword and rushed forward in the direction Epona had run, noticing the forest seemed to close off around him, leaving them only one direction to go. That direction led to a large log, and he rushed forward with all of his speed. It was there, inside the log, that the ground ended suddenly and Link pulled himself to a stop on the edge, but it wasn't soon enough, and he was unable to maintain his balance, causing him to fall.

As he fell, lights that seemed to be in the form of different faces seemed to float passed him. When all finally went dark, he felt himself land, rather safely, upon a large flower. He stared at it for but a moment before two lights seemed to turn on in front of him, aiming down like spotlights towards the Skullkid, who now seemed to float in front of him. "Where's my horse?" he shouted, noticing Epona was nowhere nearby.

"I did away with it," the Skullkid spoke. "What use is a horse if it won't listen to a single thing you say?"

The boy growled, gripping his sword tight. "I'll make you pay for that…"

The Skullkid laughed. "Do you honestly think you can take me as I am?" His voice seemed to deepen as he spoke those words. The boy took a step back and the Skullkid began to rock his head back and forth. Magic seemed to flow through the mask on his face and the boy suddenly felt himself gripped by magic. He screamed in pain as he felt like he was being transformed and a vision flooded his eyes.

The boy stood in a dark room with nothing around him. The only sound was that of the Skullkid's mask shaking. Suddenly, he found himself dropped into a large group of wooden creatures that surrounded him in an instant. They pushed and prodded him, and the boy couldn't help but feel afraid. "What's going on?" he asked as he tried to step away from the wooden beasts. "Get away from me!" he shouted but the creatures just moved in closer. "Stay away! Don't come any closer!" They grew closer still and the boy turned, darting away as quickly as he could. "Leave me alone!" he shouted as he ran.

It was then that the ground began to shake, as if something massive was making its way towards him. He stopped in his tracks, turning towards the source of the quake. He could now see one of the wooden creatures making its way towards him, but this one was not normal. It was at least twice his side, which meant it was at least five times the size of one of the normal wooden creatures. He screamed and stepped back, tripping on seemingly nothing. He closed his eyes and the vision ended.

The Skullkid stopped shaking his mask and a smirk came across his face. "Oh yes, you look much better like that." The boy opened his eyes, then looked forward. A small puddle of water lied at his feet, and when he looked into it, he could see his reflection. He had been transformed into one of the wooden creatures, a Deku Scrub, His hat had stayed atop his head, and his tunic had formed a small pair of shorts around his waist.

"Wh-what have you done to me?" the boy shouted.

The Skullkid laughed even louder. "Yes! I think I'll keep you just like that! Stay here in that form forever!" He continued to laugh as he floated backwards. Tael noticed this and began to follow, while Tatl seemed to stare at the boy.

The boy roared and rushed forward. "You're going to pay for this!" he shouted before being knocked in the hand by Tatl.

Tatl laughed and turned around, sticking her butt in the boy's face rudely. She then turned back around and blew him a raspberry. "S-sis!" Tael shouted suddenly and Tatl whirled around just in time to see a massive wooden door come slamming down in front of her. The door had separated her from her brother and the Skullkid.

"Tael!" Tatl shouted and she quickly flew towards the door, slamming her fist against the door. "Hey! Whoa! Skullkid, you can't just leave me here like this! Come on, open this door!" She knocked on the door a few more times, but it was to no avail. She growled and turned around, looking at the boy. "You!" she shouted and flew into his face. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten separated from my brother!" She punched the boy in the face, though it barely phased him. "I demand you open that door for me at once!"

The boy just seemed to stare at her, taking in her form as he looked through the glow. The fairy had long, waist-length blonde hair, and her eyes seemed to be yellow, though that could have easily been from the glow around her body. He noticed a pair of bell-like earrings upon her pointed ears, and aside from those, she wore nothing else. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

The boy looked away. "There's no way you're her…" he spoke. "She was blue and nowhere near as obnoxious."

"What the hell are you saying?" Tatl shouted and once again punched the boy in the face.

"Never mind…I'll help you get through this door, but I've got a score to settle with that Skullkid, so you're on your own after that."

"Fine, whatever, just open the damn door!"

The boy walked forward and pushed against the door. He then pushed up and the door slid up. He and Tatl quickly walked through before the door came back down behind him. The boy continued to walk forward, noticing the path ahead of him seemed to be in the form of a long log. When he reached the end of it, he found himself staring at a large cavern. "Now where the hell do I go?"

"Hey! Wait!" Tatl shouted and the boy turned around. "Look…you said you were after the Skullkid right? Well, he and I are good friends, and my brother is with him as well. So, how about this? Let's team up, I'll show you where to find the Skullkid, and after that, I can be with my brother, and you can do…whatever…Sound fair?"

The boy shrugged. "Whatever…"

"Awesome! My name is Tatl, by the way."

"Link," was the boy's entire response.

"Link, huh? Interesting name. Anyway, I'll show you how to get through here." Tatl flew forward and Link followed her close behind as they made their way deeper into the cavern. "The exit should be over…Whoa!" Tatl stopped as she noticed something strange in front of them. There was a small tree-like object not far away, but upon it was a Deku-like face. The tree's face looked hopelessly sad, as if it had lost everything.

"What's this?" Link asked as he looked the tree over.

"I…don't know…it wasn't here before…" Tatl spoke as she looked it over. "It looks sad, though…"

Link nodded and touched his hand to it. It was as if memories from the tree flowed into his mind at that moment. He saw a small Deku boy that looked almost exactly like him standing before the Skullkid. "You'll never see your Princess now," the Skullkid spoke, his voice very deep. "For all of the trouble you've caused, I shall take your soul." The Skullkid began to shake his mask like he had done to Link, and the Deku screamed. He felt his soul get torn from his body then placed within the mask the Skullkid wore. "Now stay like that forever!" the Skullkid laughed and flew off, leaving the boy's body there.

"What?" Tatl asked as Link broke out of the vision and looked up at her.

"The Skullkid did this…" Link spoke, then looked back at the tree. "He doesn't care who he hurts, just as long as he gets his way…" Tears formed in his eyes and he fought to keep them back. "I can't let anymore of this happen…I must stop him…Skullkid must pay!" He slammed his fist into the ground and growled. "Let's get out of here."

Tatl nodded slowly, noticing the anger in Link's voice and actions. There was more to his anger then just the Skullkid, and she could tell that easily. "Let's go." She turned and flew forward, the two made their way deeper into the cavern until they came upon a long hallway. As they rushed through it, Link felt like the hallway was swirling around him, and when they got out, Link found himself in a large room.

The room looked like the inside of some sort of giant clock. A massive, wooden pendulum swung in the middle of the room, and gears could be seen all around the room that made the clock move. Link slowly climbed a set of stairs that led up a floor or two before reaching a flat platform that led to a large set of double doors. "Where is this?" Link asked.

"Clocktown," Tatl spoke. "Once through those doors, you'll be in Clocktown."

"Clocktown?" Link stepped forward and rose his hands to push on the doors.

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" a voice spoke and Link stopped. He turned, his eyes falling upon a rather tall man. The man had rather short, fire-red hair along with a rather crooked face. He wore a purple robe the covered him to his knees, and under the robe was a pair of purple pants. The top of his robe seemed to be covered in gold plating of some sort, while the bracers on his arms also seemed to be fashioned out of gold. A large pack was upon his back, and on the outside of the pack several masks could be seen hanging from it.

"Who are you?" Link asked, stepping back against the doors.

"Who I am isn't important. All you need to know is that I own the Happy Mask Shop. As such, I travel far and wide in search of rare and valuable masks. During my travels, a very special mask was stolen away from me by that imp…you call him Skullkid, I believe. As such, I am now here at a loss, but luckily I've found you." The man's grin seemed to widen and Link became nervous.

"Now, don't think me rude, but I've been following you, and I know of a way to return you to your true self. If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from you, then I can aid you in returning to normal. I only ask one thing in return."

"And what would that be?" Link asked, rather monotone.

"The mask that was stolen from me, I want it back. So, in return for returning you to your normal self, I want you to get my mask back. I imagine such a task should be quite simple for you."

"But I don't even know where he is, let alone know anything about this form I'm in."

"Oh, but for someone like you, it shouldn't be difficult for you at all! Yes, in fact, I'm quite certain that you'll have no trouble at all. There is, of course, one exception."

"And what would that be?" Link asked, folding his arms.

"You see…I'm a very busy fellow…" The man turned to look away. "I have only three days here. I must leave before that, as such, you must bring it back to me within that time."

"Three days? Are you kidding me?" Link shouted.

"Is something wrong?" the man asked, looking back at Link with a curious look.

"Even if I don't sleep that only leaves me with seventy-two hours at most! There's just no way I can do that!"

The man chuckled. "You can, just believe."

"Oh yeah, sure, believe…if I just believe I can do it, I'll have no trouble, right?" Link spoke sarcastically.

"But of course! If you believe, you can do anything."

Link growled. "I'll see what I can do…but if I can't, then too bad for you." He turned and pushed open the doors to the clock tower, stepping out into the town before him.


	2. Anju

**Chapter 2: Anju**

The door to one of the rooms of the Stock Pot Inn creaked open as a man stepped forward, stretching as he awoke himself. The man had the build of a circus ringleader, rotund but good posture. His legs seemed to taper down at his feet. The outfit was that of a Shakespearean clown, white leggings, which were tapered as per his legs, a brown tunic with purple, flashy sleeves, and a large, frilly collar. He had a very rectangular face, with very short, brown hair, along with a long moustache that came to a point at each end. He made his way down the stairs and to the main room of the inn.

"Good morning, Mr. Gorman," Anju spoke at once from behind the counter. She was a beautiful woman having long red hair that ended at her shoulders. Her eyes were rather large and seemed to sparkle a sapphire blue color. She had an average build for her body, being skinny but not purely skin and bones. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt which she had rolled up to her elbows along with a sleeveless brown vest which buttoned down the center. She had a blue skirt on that ended a few inches above her ankles, having a design around the trim that looked like silver flames. She also wore a white belt made of cloth and a pair of red high-heeled shoes. She gave a bow, "How are you today?"

"Splendid, splendid," Gorman spoke with a smile. "And you, my dear?"

"I am well, Mr. Gorman. How is your troupe doing?"

"Remarkable," Gorman spoke ecstatically. "The Rosa Sisters are preparing a new dance, the Twin Jugglers are practicing their juggling and comedy even more, and Guru Guru himself is even focused on preparing a piece of music for the Rosa Sisters' dance."

"Amazing, sounds like the entire troupe is coming together."

Gorman nodded. "I'll be heading out myself sometime around half passed nine."

"Ah, that's right; you have a meeting with Madam Aroma, don't you?"

"Yes. She wanted to discuss something about my show. I can't wait. I've been planning and striving and fighting for this chance for many years, and now, finally, my dream comes true. I get to be the beginning act for the Carnival of Time! I may yet complete my dream!"

"And what dream would that be?" Anju asked curiously.

Gorman cleared his throat. "That's personal matters, Miss Anju."

Anju blushed. "Oh, please, Mr. Gorman, you don't have to be so formal."

"You say that, yet you refer to me as 'Mr. Gorman'. My dear, if I don't need to be so formal to you, then you have no need to be so formal to me, either." Gorman smiled brightly.

"But it is polite…"

"And that is why I refer to you as 'Miss Anju', because it is polite." The clock on the wall chimed nine and Gorman smiled as he looked up at it. "Another half an hour should do fine. I don't want to be too early. Waiting outside the door for an hour would be rather boring."

"Why not eat some food while you're waiting? Breakfast is always a good way to start a morning. It gives you the energy you need to continue through the day."

Gorman laughed. "Well, I'd have to decline that offer, unfortunately, I have several affairs to deal with before I head out."

"ARGH!" a female voice shouted and a door slammed shut rather loudly. From the upstairs rooms came a woman dressed in a white leotard that had a few red designs on the edges of it. She had dark red hair that she had pulled up into a small ponytail and she wore a sort of red eye shadow.

"Rosa, is something wrong?" Gorman asked.

"This dance is impossible!" Rosa shouted at Gorman, getting right in his face. "You want it to be flashy, to be spectacular, well damn it all, we're just plain out of ideas! We've tried everything we can think of, and nothing, I mean nothing looks good!"

"Well, surely you can figure something out-"

"No!" Rosa shouted and growled. "My sister and I are done thinking for right now. We have been working on this for three days straight as it is. We are stopping to rest before we get back into it, understand?"

"Certainly…I don't see any reason that you can't stop to rest, as long as the dance is ready…Do keep in mind that we have only three days…"

Rosa sighed. "I know…" she took a step back and leaned against the wall. "I just…don't know what to do…"

Gorman smiled and walked up to Rosa. "Don't worry, dear. Everything will fall into place. The gods will give you the inspiration you need, right when you need it most."

"But we need it now…"

"Are you trusting in them?"

Rosa sighed. "Not really…"

"Maybe that is why?" Gorman shrugged. "You must trust in them and have faith. They will give you the inspiration you need."

Rosa sighed. "Maybe you're right…I'll go talk to my sister…" She stood to her feet and headed off, heading back up to the top floor rooms of the inn.

Gorman gave a sigh. "Things are beginning to fall apart…" he spoke more to himself then to anyone else. "Can this really be done?" He turned his attention back to the clock. "Close enough…" he spoke and left the inn.

. . .

"Oh, Anju, what are we going to do?" a rather large woman asked. She had her crimson hair up in a bun and was wearing a white shirt with green pants and a green jacket over her shirt. "You're wedding is just three days away, but Kafei hasn't been seen in a month!"

"I know…" Anju spoke as she stared out of a nearby window. Her face showed overwhelming sadness. "He'll show up, though, I know it…he promised…"

"Some people don't always keep their promises, though, Anju…"

"Kafei will!" Anju protested. She then sighed and turned back to looking out the window.

"How do you know Kafei hasn't run off with some other woman?"

"Because I know Kafei…he wouldn't do something like that…"

"Then what do you think happened to him?" the woman asked as she stepped close to Anju.

"I don't know, but he will show, I know it…he just has to…" The bell to the inn door rang and Anju looked up quickly. "Welcome to the Stock Pot Inn, how can I help you?" she asked with a smile, then noticed who it was. The man who had just entered was dressed in a white outfit with a red bag on his back and a red hat on his head. This was the Postman, which was also the name everyone knew him by.

"I have a letter for an Anju," the Postman spoke.

"For me?" Anju questioned. The Postman reached into his bag and pulled out a small letter in a red envelope and handed it to Anju. At once she let out a loud gasp. "Where did you get this?"

"From the postbox," the Postman spoke rather plainly.

"That doesn't help me!" Anju protested. "Which postbox?"

"The postbox somewhere."

"Ugh!" Anju shouted and grabbed her hair. "I need to know where you got this letter from!"

"Post Office Privacy Policy states I cannot convey that information."

Anju looked down and gave a sigh. "Right…" she closed her eyes a moment before opening the letter. She watched as the Postman jogged out of the inn and her eyes returned to the letter.

"Anju, what is it?" the large woman asked.

"Mother…this letter…it's from Kafei…" Anju spoke after a moment.

"From Kafei?" Anju's Mother cried, as if in horror. "What does it say?"

"I…I can't say…" Anju spoke then pocketed the letter. "I'm sorry." She gave a bow to her mother. "For now, just trust me."

Anju's Mother folded her arms and gave a sigh. "Very well…but I still think that Kafei is nothing but trouble…I mean, who the hell disappears a month before their own wedding without any kind of warning or explanation?" She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, in either case, you're doing a good job manning the inn, so keep it up." She turned and walked away and Anju turned back to the counter then gave a sigh.

"Kafei…" Anju spoke as she pulled the letter back out and began to read through it once again.

. . .

"Kafei…" Anju spoke as she stared at the ceiling of her room. "Can I really meet you? Will you be able to explain everything?" she turned onto her side and looked at the letter lying on her stand next to her bed. She then looked up at the clock, noticing the time. "It's almost two…"

Anju tossed the blankets off of her and dressed, then stepped out into the inn that was her home. She then began to make her way down the stairs into the main room of the inn.

"This will break her heart!" Anju's Mother shouted and Anju quickly hid behind a wall.

"I know…for Kafei to do something like this…I can only hope it's not true…" a female voice spoke and Anju gasped.

"What's happened?" Anju shouted, jumping out from behind the wall. She now saw who her Mother was talking to. It was Madam Aroma, the wife of the Mayor of Clocktown and the mother of Kafei.

"Anju…" Madam Aroma spoke as she looked at Anju. "Kafei…he might be…at Romani Ranch…"

"What's wrong with that? Cremia is a friend of ours…"

"He may be cheating on you with her…"

"What? There's no way that he-"

"Anju…he went missing about a month ago…" Anju's mother spoke up. "Also, Cremia's last visit was a month ago. That could mean that Kafei went with Cremia…"

"No…I don't believe it at all…" Anju spoke as she stepped back, completely mortified by this news. Tears were again trying to come to her eyes and she fought them back as hard as she could. "He…he would never do something like that…"

"There's no denying that it's a possibility…"

"I won't believe it!" Anju shouted and rushed forward, throwing the door to the inn open.

"Anju!" Anju's Mother shouted, then gave a sigh of defeat. "Well…now she's definitely unhappy about this…"

Anju continued to run once she was out of the inn, making her way through Clocktown until she reached the small pool that many referred to as the Laundry Pool. It was here that she stopped, still attempting to fight back the tears. In front of her was a small bell on a post, and it was here that Kafei had asked her to come in his letter. He had said that if she rang the bell, he would appear and explain everything. However, she didn't have the courage to do it and she sat down on a nearby bench.

"I don't understand, Kafei…what's going on?" Anju asked before closing her eyes. "Why did you disappear? Are you really coming back?" Tears rolled down her eyes and she quickly wiped them away, but it wasn't enough. "No…I'm not going to cry…I…I refuse!" she looked back up at the bell then dropped her head into her hands. "Why? Why can't I ring the bell? I just want to see him…I want to be with him…why did he disappear on me like this?" It was as if revelation hit Anju and her eyes went wide. Her body shook as she tried to fight back the tears once more, but the thought in her head made her desire to only burst out into tears even more.

"It's…because of me, isn't it?" Anju asked herself. "Cremia…she's so much more beautiful than me…and she's so much nicer…Would it be really that hard to think that he might have fallen for her?" She shook her head trying to get the thought out of her mind but it was useless. "Kafei…please tell me none of this is true…please tell me…that it's all a big misunderstanding…" the tears returned with a vengeance, and all she could do was hide her head in her hands, unable to stop her crying.

"AUGH!" a voice shouted rather loudly and Anju quickly looked up to see a small Deku boy tumbling down the hill that led to the Laundry Pool. Quickly, Anju rushed over and caught the boy before he tumbled into the water that was actually rather deep to a Deku boy and would certainly have drowned him if she hadn't saved him.

"Are you okay?" Anju asked as she held the Deku boy in her hands. The boy nodded, not sure how to react to this new turn of events. "What's going on here?" Anju looked up, seeing a rather small, shaggy dog running towards them. "Bruno!" she shouted and the dog screeched to a stop. She glared at the dog and the dog cowered. "What did I tell you about attacking Deku?" Bruno whined a little. "Leave this boy alone. Shoo!" Bruno yipped as he rushed away.

Anju sighed and knelt down and picked the Deku boy up. "Oh dear, Bruno looks like he did a bit of a number to you…I'll take you back to my home and patch you up." She smiled and the Deku boy just stared up at her. He gave a small smile before slipping out of consciousness. With that, Anju quickly made her way back to the inn where she threw the door open rather roughly. "Mother! Fetch the medical supplies, quickly!"

"Oh dear, what happened?" Anju's mother cried as she quickly grabbed up a small bag from nearby, rushing out to the front door of the inn.

"This poor Deku boy was being chased by Bruno."

"Where's his family?"

"I don't know…but Bruno chased him into the Laundry Pool…I saved him from being drowned and then he slipped out of consciousness…"

"Oh dear, let's get him bandaged up quickly then." Immediately they set to work on bandaging the Deku boy's wounds. It only took a few minutes, and after that they took the Deku boy up to Anju's room. "I'll go man the inn, you keep an eye on this Deku boy."

"I will," Anju spoke with a nod and her Mother turned and left. Anju sat down on the bed next to the Deku boy and gently stroked his hair. It took only a few minutes after that for the Deku boy to awaken. "You're awake," Anju spoke with a relieved smile, "that's good."

"Wh-where am I?" the Deku boy asked as he rubbed his head, slowly sitting up.

"You're in the Stock Pot Inn."

"Stock Pot Inn? Where's that?"

"In Clocktown, you do know where Clocktown is right?" The Deku boy shook his head at Anju's question. "Oh dear…that's a little strange…well, don't worry about it. Do you know where your parents are?"

The Deku boy stared at Anju for a moment, and then looked away. "Umm…well…you see…I don't have any parents…"

"No parents?" Anju asked, blinking in confusion. "Then…you're by yourself?" The Deku boy nodded. "Oh dear…that's terrible…tell me, what's your name?"

"L-Link…"

"Link? That's an interesting name for a Deku…Where are you from?"

"Umm…Hyrule…the Kokiri Forest to be exact."

"High…rule?" Anju asked, tilting her head in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't know any places with that name."

"You don't know Hyrule?" Link asked, giving Anju a confused stare. "Where am I then?"

"Well, the land you're in is called Termina. It…it means just like it sounds…we've had a lot of problems in our land…and some people believe our land is doomed so they started calling it that…"

"That's terrible…" Link spoke, looking down.

"In either case, you're in the town in the center of Termina called Clocktown."

"I can honestly say I've never heard of this place before…"

"Well, how did you get here?"

"I…was looking for a friend…she left me after our last adventure…These two fairies appeared and attacked my horse…then a Skullkid stole my horse and ran off with it…I followed him, and I ended up here…"

"Quite a story…but…how were you riding a horse? You're just a Deku boy, aren't you?"

"I…I haven't always been like this…" Link spoke and sighed as he closed his eyes. "When I finally caught up, the Skullkid used this weird mask to transform me into this…"

"So, then, what were you before?"

"I was a Hylian…"

"A Hylian? What kind of creature is that?"

Link looked Anju up and down for a moment. "Umm…Hylians look a lot like you do…"

"Really? Interesting." Anju put her hand to her chin as she thought for a moment. "Well, what are you going to do now?"

"I was going to try to find that Skullkid, see if I could get him to turn me back…"

"I see…" Anju stood to her feet and put her hands on her hips. "Well, you're not going anywhere right now. You're pretty badly beat up. What all have you done since you've been here?"

"Well…after I got turned into this…I had to fly through a cave using a bunch of flowers…I found this really weird tree there…kind of looked like it had a face…"

"Sounds like a dead Deku…"

"What?" Link asked, his eyes wide in shock.

Anju sighed. "When a Deku dies, they turn into trees…"

"Could magic transfer a soul from a creature into a mask?"

"Possibly, why?"

Link looked down. "Because…the tree looked a lot like I do now…"

"That's…really sad actually…" Anju sat down next to Link and sighed. "Well, don't worry yourself over it, there's nothing you could have done to save the Deku, okay?" Link nodded. "What else have you done so far?"

"Well…after that…I walked through this winding path…it led me into the clock tower…"

"A path into the clock tower…from somewhere else?"

Link nodded. "When I turned around it was gone…so…maybe it was a portal?"

"Perhaps…" Anju put her hand to her chin. "In either case, please, go on."

"After that, I began to journey a bit in the town…I visited the Great Fairy in the North and she was split apart into a bunch of little fairies because of the Skullkid…so I tried to find the missing fairy and met the Bomber Gang. They put me through a test to find all five of them…I did manage it…but it took me a while…After that…I went to meet the Astrologer…and then…"

"And then?" Anju asked curiously.

Link nodded. "And then I ran into the dog…It beat me up a good bit…but…that's because I tried to fight it, instead of running away right away."

"I see…well, you're definitely courageous."

Link rubbed the back of his neck. "I would hope so…I was once the Wielder of the Triforce of Courage."

"Triforce of Courage? What's that?"

Link blinked in confusion for a moment. "Umm…nothing, it's not important," he spoke, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I see…" Anju smiled and picked Link up, setting him on her lap. "Well, since you're pretty much stuck here until you heal, and you don't have any family, you're free to be part of ours."

"Y-you want me to be part of your family?" Link asked.

Anju nodded. "Yes."

"Th-that's…very nice of you…but I really need to find that Skullkid."

"Oh no, you're not. You're not going anywhere until you've fully healed."

"But they're just scratches!"

"Scratches, huh?" Anju touched one of his wounds and Link screamed in pain. "You may have been a Hylian before, but your body as a Deku can't take as much as a Hylian body can. That dog did a good number on you, it's going to take a couple days for you to heal." Anju turned to look out the window. "Unfortunately…we might not have that long…"

"What do you mean?"

"This is probably a dumb question…but did you happen to look at the sky while you've been here?"

Link shook his head. "No…should I have?"

Anju picked Link up again and set him at the window. "Look up."

Link did as he was told. "WAH!" he shouted and began to squirm. "Wh-what is that?" High above the town was a massive brown orb. Small craters could be seen all over it, and it was as if the orb had a massive face upon it as well. Two glowing red eyes could easily be seen, along with a rather large nose and a terrible grin. It looked as if it was poised to destroy.

"That's the moon…people think it's going to come crashing down on us."

"Wh-what?"

Anju sighed. "It changed like that sometime a couple of nights ago…the moon is threatening to come crashing down on us…no one is really sure how long we have until it crashes…"

"That's…terrible…" Link looked down for a moment, then made a fist and looked back up at Anju. "I can try to stop it. I'm a hero in my land, I'm certain I can do it."

Anju smiled but shook her head. "No, it's ok…you need to heal, and this is our problem anyway."

"But…I'm here now…and if there's no way out of here, it's my problem as well."

Anju sighed. "I guess you have a point there, but regardless, you have to heal first. You can't do anything as you are."

"But I can't just let Termina be destroyed!"

"I know…" Anju sighed as she looked up at the window. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before she turned back to Link. "Just promise me you'll come back at night, ok? I'll even give you a key to the inn. This is your family now, okay? So at least stay here during the night."

Link thought for a moment, and then nodded. "All right."

Anju smiled and hugged Link. "Be careful out there, little brother."

Link blushed at those words. "I-I will…" Anju pulled a small key from her pouch and handed it to Link. Link then turned and hopped up to the window. He looked out for a moment then flicked his wrists and two flowers seemed to grow from his hands. He hopped forward and the wind caught him, letting him gently float to the ground.

"Good luck, little brother," Anju spoke as she watched Link head off.

. . .

"Ok, Anju, we're leaving tomorrow for the ranch," Anju's mother spoke as she looked down at her. Anju was currently sitting on her bed, her face hung low looking down at the ground. She looked sad, defeated, without purpose. "Cremia will take us in. After all, she is your best friend, right?" Anju's mother stayed silent a moment before speaking again. "Are you listening to me?"

"I wonder if it's true…that Kafei is at Cremia's…" Anju spoke suddenly.

"There's only one way for us to find out about that," Anju's mother spoke. "We'll have to go there and find out ourselves."

"But what if he is?" Anju asked, quickly looking up at her mother, worry showing on her face. "What if…" she looked back down, returning to her almost depressed expression, "…what if he is there…and he really has left me for Cremia?"

Anju's mother sighed. "Cremia needs strength from a partner as well as funds and such that she could obtain easily from Madam Aroma. Why…I would say it's almost certain he's there."

"But, Mother-" Anju quickly shot her head up to protest, but her mother waved her hand in front of Anju's face.

"If he is there, I'll give him a good smacking." Anju's mother made a motion to demonstrate this. "Also, it means you're better off without him. After all, how happy can you be marrying a man who would run off just before his own wedding? Why…you'd be miserable!"

Anju looked back down in defeat. "But…in his letter…he said he would definitely be back…"

"Come back to what?" Anju's mother protested almost instantly. "Isn't this town going to be crushed by that moon in the sky come the morning after tomorrow? There won't be anything left for him to come back to!" She sighed and sat down on the bed next to Anju. "Dear…for now, just focus on staying alive. Once we're all safe…then we can focus on the more important things."

"Yes, Mother," Anju spoke and Anju's mother wrapped her arms around her daughter. The two stayed in the embrace for a few moments before deciding it was time for them both to head to bed.

"Have you seen Link?" Anju asked and her mother shook her head. She sighed and took one last glance out the window, searching for her new brother before lying herself down and falling asleep.

. . .

It was the final day. The moon was destined to fall the very next morning, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. "Grandma," Anju spoke as she opened the door to a large study. "We're leaving."

"Oh, is that you, Tortus?" an elderly lady asked as she looked up at Anju. She sat in a wheelchair as her old age had left her unable to walk. In her hands was a book, one she seemed to read day-in and day-out.

"Grandma, it's me, Anju…" Anju spoke as she stepped over to her.

"Oh my, silly child, you really are such a bother. You're even thinking you're someone else now."

Anju sighed and stepped over to her grandmother and grabbed the back of the wheelchair. "We're going to Romani Ranch for shelter. Come on." Anju wheeled her grandmother out of the study and out into the inn.

"Is everything ready?" Anju's mother asked and Anju nodded. "Good, then."

"What about Link? Did he ever show today?" Anju asked as she looked around worriedly.

"No, Anju, he didn't…I hope that boy is all right…"

Anju nodded and began to wheel her grandmother out the door. She turned her gaze off to the east, and for a split moment, she thought she saw a faint bit of green. She quickly began to look around, but she saw nothing. "I must be seeing things…" she spoke and began to push her grandmother once more.

"We need to hurry, it's already sunset, and the ranch is quite a ways away," Anju's mother spoke as they made their way out of Clocktown and into the southern field. They quickly made their way through the field and down the path known as Milk Road. At the end of Milk Road was a man with a large pickaxe, rubble was all around, showing he had been working for quite some time.

"Making your way to the ranch?" the man asked and Anju nodded. "Got this done just in time then. There was a big boulder blocking the way. Best be hurrying now. That moon doesn't look to friendly."

"Thank you," Anju spoke and wheeled her grandmother forward and down the remainder of the path, soon reaching the ranch. They quickly made their way down to the house where Anju knocked rather fiercely.

"Anju?" a woman asked as she opened the door. She had rather light brown hair that ended at about her waist and she wore a white shirt with a purple skirt that went down to her feet. A brown belt was around her waist while a yellow tie was around her neck. "What is it?"

"Cremia, we've come seeking refuge from the moon."

"Oh dear…" Cremia spoke, looking away. "I'm afraid…my ranch is doomed as well…when the moon hits…there won't be anything left…"

"Then nowhere is safe…" Anju spoke as she looked down and Cremia nodded.

"But, please, by all means, come in…" Cremia spoke, opening the door open wide and stepping aside. "Just…do me a favor…don't say anything about the moon…I don't want my sister to know…" Anju nodded and she wheeled her grandmother inside with her mother following soon after. "Romani! We have guests over tonight!" she shouted up the stairs.

At once a young girl came strolling down the stairs, looking rather blank. She looked exactly like Cremia, but about seven years younger. "Who are these people?" Romani asked.

"They're our friends – Anju, her mother, and her grandmother," Cremia spoke.

"It's good to meet you…" Romani spoke and gave a bow. Cremia sighed.

"What's wrong with Romani?" Anju asked.

"A few days ago, she was going on about how something was going to come to the ranch three days before the Carnival of Time and steal our cows away…She made herself a bow and was practicing shooting arrows…I thought it harmless, so I let her continue, even though I didn't believe it at all…and then…two nights ago…they came…Ghosts…or something…they appeared, riding on a beam of light…They attacked the ranch, destroyed the roof of the barn, and stole our cows away…"

"That's terrible!" Anju cried.

Cremia nodded. "Romani tried to protect the cows…I…I don't know what they did to her…but she hasn't remembered anything since…not even her own name…"

"I'm sorry…" Anju's mother spoke and wrapped her arms around Cremia. "Now, I have to ask…is it just you're family here?"

Cremia nodded. "Of course. Other then my brother, Grog, who is tending to the Cuccos, it's just me and Romani here…why?"

"Kafei…has disappeared…" Anju spoke and Cremia gasped. "We didn't know where he went…rumors circulated that maybe he came here…" Anju looked down. "Maybe…he had run off with you…"

"Never!" Cremia shouted. "I may love Kafei, but I know how much he means to you, and how much you mean to him. Why, if he came here and suddenly confessed his love to me, I'd smack him a new one and kick his ass out! Cause if he's going to come here suddenly when he's already due to be married, then I won't stand to be with a guy like that."

Anju nodded. "I…I thought so…but…I didn't know…" The ground beneath their feet began to shake rather suddenly and Anju quickly opened the door to the ranch and looked out. Her face showed horror as she watched as fire engulfed the moon as it continued its decent. The massive orb was about to come crashing down, and there was no time left.

. . .

"No!" Link shouted as he stood before the clock tower, staring up at it. The tower was beginning to crumble as the moon was making its descent. "I can't stop it…there's nothing I can do…I can't…" He fell to his feet and grabbed his head. "Three days! I had three days, and I couldn't do anything! Not a god damn thing!" He slammed his fist into the ground as tears came rolled down his cheeks and onto the ground. "I have to stop this…I have to…there has to be something I can…"

Link looked back up at the moon and he felt as if the orb was staring back at him. He saw it now, something he had not noticed before. A look of sadness upon the face of the moon, as if it didn't want to do what it was doing. He could sense that the moon was doing everything in its power to not fall, but the powers that were dragging it down were just too much for it.

The clock tower buckled under the stress of the moon and collapsed to the ground, sending debris flying everywhere. Link put up his hands to block the debris from his face, as if hoping it would be enough to keep him alive. The moon's great weight began to push upon the earth, and dust and debris were quickly lifted from the ground and sent flying all around. The walls of Clocktown burst apart and Link's final vision was of the fire from around the moon striking the ground, causing a massive release of energy that sent Link flying back, screaming. It was then that all went dark.

. . .

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" a voice asked and Link swore he recognized it. Darkness still covered his vision, but he could hear sounds, almost like the sounds of gears turning. Slowly, his eyes managed to open once more, and his eyes went wide when they adjusted enough to see around him. He was now in the clock tower in the center of Clocktown, but it was not the ruins of a tower like he had anticipated. Instead, the tower was whole, as if nothing had ever happened to it. "Oh well, we all fail sometimes. You know what they say, 'if at first you don't succeed, try try again.'"

That voice…Link turned and, much to his surprise, he found himself staring at the man he had met the first time he had been here, the salesman that owned the Happy Mask Shop. "Well, are you going to just lie there all day, or are you going to go fetch the precious item that was stolen from you? After all, you only have three days."

"Three days?" Link asked and turned, noticing Tatl was floating next to him. She seemed as lost as he was. "There's no way…something must be wrong…" He quickly got up and thrust the doors to the clock tower open and his eyes went wide when he noticed everything had reset. The moon was high in the sky, signaling there were still three days left. "There's no way…Didn't we see Clocktown get destroyed just now?"

"I swear we did…" Tatl spoke then shook her head. "Whatever, I don't care, this gives us three days to get that ocarina back from the Skullkid, let's go."

Link nodded. "Right…" he looked back. "But…exactly who is he? That…Happy Mask Salesman?"

"I don't know, Link…but I don't think we'll ever find out…"


	3. Three Days of Deku

A/N: I want everyone who reads this chapter to keep in mind that this chapter is all fan-based. There are things in this chapter that can be done in-game, and things in this chapter that are not. There are also some theories on characters I threw in. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter. (Also, if you haven't yet, I modified chapter 2 a bit, so make sure to go back and check it out before reading this chapter)

**Chapter 3: Three Days of Deku**

The door to one of the rooms of the Stock Pot Inn creaked open as Gorman once again walked out of his room, stretching to wake himself up. He made his way down the stairs and to the main room of the inn. "Good morning, Mr. Gorman," Anju spoke at once from behind the counter. She gave a bow, "How are you today?"

"Splendid, splendid," Gorman spoke with a smile. "And you, my dear?"

"I am well, Mr. Gorman. How is your troupe doing?"

"Remarkable," Gorman spoke ecstatically. "The Rosa Sisters are preparing a new dance, the Twin Jugglers are practicing their juggling and comedy even more, and Guru Guru himself is even focused on preparing a piece of music for the Rosa Sisters' dance."

"Amazing, sounds like the entire troupe is coming together."

Gorman nodded. "I'll be heading out myself sometime around half passed nine."

"Ah, that's right; you have a meeting with Madam Aroma, don't you?"

"Yes. She wanted to discuss something about my show. I can't wait. I've been planning and striving and fighting for this chance for many years, and now, finally, my dream comes true. I get to be the beginning act for the Carnival of Time! I may yet complete my dream!"

"And what dream would that be?" Anju asked curiously.

Gorman cleared his throat. "That's personal matters, Miss Anju."

Anju blushed. "Oh, please, Mr. Gorman, you don't have to be so formal."

"You say that, yet you refer to me as 'Mr. Gorman'. My dear, if I don't need to be so formal to you, then you have no need to be so formal to me, either." Gorman smiled brightly.

"But it is polite…"

"And that is why I refer to you as 'Miss Anju', because it is polite." The clock on the wall chimed nine and Gorman smiled as he looked up at it. "Another half an hour should do fine. I don't want to be too early. Waiting outside the door for an hour would be rather boring."

"Why not eat some food while you're waiting? Breakfast is always a good way to start a morning. It gives you the energy you need to continue through the day."

Gorman laughed. "Well, I'd have to decline that offer, unfortunately, I have several affairs to deal with before I head out."

"ARGH!" a female voice shouted and a door slammed shut rather loudly. Rosa once again came down from the stairs.

"Rosa, is something wrong?" Gorman asked.

"This dance is impossible!" Rosa shouted at Gorman, getting right in his face. "You want it to be flashy, to be spectacular, well damn it all, we're just plain out of ideas! We've tried everything we can think of, and nothing, I mean nothing looks good!"

"Well, surely you can figure something out-"

"No!" Rosa shouted and growled. "My sister and I are done thinking for right now. We have been working on this for three days straight as it is. We are stopping to rest before we get back into it, understand?"

"Certainly…I don't see any reason that you can't stop to rest, as long as the dance is ready…Do keep in mind that we have only three days…"

Rosa sighed. "I know…" she took a step back and leaned against the wall. "I just…don't know what to do…"

Gorman smiled and walked up to Rosa. "Don't worry, dear. Everything will fall into place. The gods will give you the inspiration you need, right when you need it most."

"But we need it now…"

"Are you trusting in them?"

Rosa sighed. "Not really…"

"Maybe that is why?" Gorman shrugged. "You must trust in them and have faith. They will give you the inspiration you need."

Rosa sighed. "Maybe you're right…I'll go talk to my sister…" She stood to her feet and headed off, heading back up to the top floor rooms of the inn.

Gorman gave a sigh. "Things are beginning to fall apart…" he spoke more to himself then to anyone else. "Can this really be done?" He turned his attention back to the clock. "Close enough…" he spoke and left the inn.

. . .

"Monsieur Gorman, welcome," Madam Aroma spoke as Gorman entered her room. She was dressed in a very expensive looking dress that was yellow in color. Her hair was up in a weird sort of bow-like form, and she was rather large, showing she had always been rich her entire life. She had golden bracelets on her arms and upon her left hand sat the largest ruby the world had ever seen on a ring. She was currently set back in a large chair at the end of the room.

"Madam Aroma, it is nice to see you," Gorman spoke with a bow and a smile. "I must say, it is an honor that you decided to put the Gorman Troupe as the opening act for the Carnival of Time."

"Yes…about that…" Madam Aroma spoke, her voice fading as she did and her eyes looking away.

"H-huh?"

"Monsieur Gorman, I would like you to meet Monsieur Toto. He is the manager of the Indigo-Gos." Madam Aroma waved to a rather large fish-like creature sitting on a couch next to her chair. He had a tiny white top-hat on his head and a long pointy beard. He held a rather old looking cane in one hand while he held a brown book in his other. He had bags under his eyes, showing he was extremely tired.

"H-hello," Gorman spoke with a bow.

"Hello, Mr. Gorman," Toto spoke with a bow of sorts.

"What…is going on, Madam Aroma?" Gorman asked as he looked back at the large woman.

"Well, you see, with the disappearance of my son, as well as…other matters which Monsieur Toto shall explain here in a moment…we have no choice but to cancel the act."

"Wh-what?" Gorman almost screamed.

"I am sorry, allow me to help you understand..." Toto began. "You see…a few days ago, the lead singer of the Indigo-Gos, Lulu, lost her voice. It occurred through a strange set of ordeals that even we don't fully understand, so I'll spare the explanation. Suffice to say…unless these matters change…the Indigo-Gos will have no choice but to withdraw from the act."

"Th-then…what is to become of the Gorman Troupe's act?" Gorman asked as he turned back to Madam Aroma. Fear showed on his face as he realized that, without the Indigo-Gos act, this meant his act was likely cancelled as well.

"It's all been cancelled," Madam Aroma spoke, and Gorman realized his fears had come true.

"I…I see…" Gorman looked down.

"Oh, but dear, don't worry…it's not your fault…and suffice to say…the entire town seems to be falling apart…"

Gorman nodded. "Is…is that all?"

"Yes, you are dismissed, Monsieur Gorman."

Gorman gave a bow to both Toto and Madam Aroma before turning away and leaving the building. "Figures…this has always happened in the past…I should have expected it would happen this time…" He gave a sigh as he turned his head down. It was then that he felt something hit him in the back of the leg and he quickly whirled around. "What the hell?" He looked around for a moment before looking down once more, this time seeing Link at his feet. "You!" he shouted. "Did you run into me just now?"

"I'm sorry," Link spoke, "I wasn't watching where I was going…"

"Bah!" Gorman shouted. "I don't have time to deal with you…run along to your parents!" He spun on his heel and marched off. He made his way over to the nearby pub known as the Milk Bar, where he slammed the door open. "Hey!" a man shouted at once. "You can't come in here! We don't open until ten, and this bar is members only!"

"I just need a damn place to sit, ok?" Gorman shouted. "A place to sit…and a place to drink…I just…need to clear my mind…"

The man grumbled. "Fine, but you make a mess, and I'll kick your ass out of here."

"Whatever…" Gorman stumbled his way in and sat down at the bar where he immediately demanded the closest thing to alcohol he could get, Chateau Romani.

. . .

"What are we going to do?" Tatl asked as she slowly flew around Link. The two were now sitting in the center of East Clock Town, near the Stock Pot Inn.

"I don't know…" Link spoke. "I couldn't save this world last time…but there must be something I can do now…" He turned to the Inn for a moment before looking up to the moon. "There must be-" He felt something hit him hard in the back, causing him to topple over. However, it wasn't only him who toppled over, it was also the man behind him who had just tripped over Link. The man wore a white leotard-like outfit with a red hat and red bag.

"Augh!" the man shouted. "This is not good! I'm going to be late now…" The man quickly pushed himself up. He quickly fixed his hat and Link quickly grabbed onto him. "What the…" The man looked down, seeing Link at his feet. "Let go, Deku Boy! You're going to make me late!"

"What's so important you have to move so quickly?" Link spoke up.

"I don't have time to talk to you!"

"Just tell me and I'll let go!"

The man grumbled. "I am the Postman and I have a very delicate schedule. I cannot be even a fraction of a second late for my pickups or my deliveries."

"Postman, huh?" Link let go. "Sorry…" The Postman didn't speak another word as he quickly turned and ran off. "Well…I was hoping I might get some kind of information from him…"

"Hey, Link, remember last cycle?" Tatl asked and Link looked up at her. "The Bombers…we first saved the Great Fairy in North Clock Town and then we chased the Bombers down. They gave us a code to their hideout, remember?"

"What about it?"

"Don't you get it? It's still the first day! That amount of work took us almost two days on its own, and we still didn't find their hideout the next day."

"So?"

Tatl growled and bonked Link on the head. "You idiot! Isn't it obvious? We've got to start where we left off! Let's find that hideout."

"But we looked everywhere!" Link protested.

"Not in this section. We checked West, North, and South Clock Town, but when we got here the moon crashed down, remember? Let's check this area! Do you remember the code?"

"Yeah…it was…let me think…five, four, one, three, two…I think…"

"Right, let's check around then." Link quickly got to his feet and the two split up. Link made his way to the northern side while Tatl flew off to the southern side. It took them only about an hour before Link quickly called for Tatl. "What is it?"

"Here," Link spoke as he pointed to an alley. "We haven't gone down there yet."

"Wait!" a voice shouted and Link turned to see one of the Bombers running towards him. "You can't go in there! That's the Headquarters of the Bomber's Secret Society of Justice! Only Bombers can get in there!"

"Err…well…" Link looked at Tatl, then back at the Bomber. "Five, four, one, three, two."

The Bomber kid jumped. "You…you know the code?"

"Well, of course, I am a Bomber, after all."

"But…I've never seen you before…" The kid put his hand to his chin. "Although, Jim said 'Anyone who knows the code can get in.' So…I guess…maybe you're a new addition…Fine, I'll let you in."

Link and Tatl smiled. "Awesome," Tatl spoke. "Thanks."

"Hey, Tatl! I didn't even see you there!"

Tatl giggled. "Don't worry, kid, it's okay."

With that Link quickly rushed into the alleyway. There inside he found the path seemed to slant down as it went underground into a long pathway. As he made his way through, he found the path was not so easily traversed. The first trouble he had come to was a large pool of water. Link had had an experience with this before, and he knew he could not swim in this form. However, he was light enough to hop across the surface of the water, at least, for a time. He quickly took a running jump and hopped onto the water.

Quickly, he pushed off, hopping across the water a ways until he came to a small island of sorts in the middle of the pool. He then leaped again, hopping across the rest of the way. "That was fun…" Link spoke sarcastically.

"Well, at least you got across it," Tatl spoke and Link nodded. It was then he found his second obstacle as a massive spider dropped down from above. The creature's backside looked like a rather large skull, while its head and eyes seemed to sit at the bottom of it, looking almost like teeth. "Skulltula!"

"Damn, I hate these things…" Link spoke and growled as he backed up. "I wish I had my sword right now…"

"Link, try using that power the Great Fairy gave you!"

Link blinked for a second as he tried to remember. "Oh yeah!" He stood his ground and right as the Skulltula jumped at him, Link twirled around. Magic swirled into his hat and his hat became as sharp as a blade. It quickly cut the underside of the Skulltula and it reeled back in pain. Link rushed forward and quickly pulled himself up onto a single foot, twirling on his toes as he once again unleashed the magic into his hat, striking the creature in the side and causing it to roll over onto its back. Link then pulled himself back and formed a bubble of magic at his mouth. He shot it forward and the Skulltula roared as it was struck in its weak underside, causing it to finally pull its legs in on itself and die.

"We did it!" Tatl shouted.

Link gave a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead. "That was close…I thought I was a goner…"

"We don't really have time to dawdle here…even if we did just kill our first monster."

Link nodded. "You're right. We got lucky that we somehow got pulled back in time the first time, but there's no guarantee it will happen a second time."

"Exactly," Tatl spoke and the two took off, heading deeper in. It wasn't long before Link found himself in a strange circular room. A set of circular stairs seemed to climb up infinitely while a scarecrow sat in the center of the room. A couple of large pots sat off to either side and a cucco in a cage could be seen behind the scarecrow, as well as a couple of other minor odds and ends.

"Hey, howdy, ho!" the scarecrow spoke suddenly which made Link jump. "I'm Pierre, the music-loving scarecrow!"

"Pierre?" Link asked as he looked over the scarecrow. "From Hyrule?"

The scarecrow twisted his head in confusion. "What's 'Hyrule'?"

"N-never mind…" Link spoke and rubbed the back of his neck. "Where are we?"

"This is the home of Professor Shikashi, the Astrologer. He's currently upstairs doing research on the moon. He says it's going to fall…like that'll ever happen."

Link turned to Tatl and they nodded. Link quickly rushed his way up the stairs and soon found a man standing before a massive telescope. He was dressed in a blue robe and cap and his hair had gone gray in old age. "Professor Shikashi!" Link spoke up at once.

"Hello," the Professor spoke as he turned to Link. "You're new around here. Did you become a friend of the Bombers recently?"

"Something like that…Pierre told me you know the moon is going to fall…"

"Ahh…" the Professor sighed and nodded. "It could…but I would rather not trouble a child over such matters…"

"I'm not a child," Link spoke. "I was turned into this by the Skullkid."

"The Skullkid? You mean the little imp?" the Professor asked and Link nodded. "That imp…I wonder what other troubles he has caused…right now he is standing at the top of the Clock Tower…but…I wonder how he got up there…The door to the top of the Clock Tower opens only once, and that's on the eve of the carnival at midnight. It closes the next day…"

"You hear that, Link?" Tatl whispered. "We've got to get up there at midnight on the third day. It's our only chance to stop him."

Link nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh…I'm sorry," the Professor spoke, "would you like to have a look? The view of the world is amazing from the telescope."

"Sure." The Professor picked Link up and he looked into the telescope. When he did, he saw Skullkid standing high on the top of the Clock Tower. Skullkid pointed at the telescope and Link guessed he was laughing as his body was jiggling as if he was. He then turned his attention to the sky. "Look up," Link spoke and the Professor cranked the telescope up. It was as if the moon began to cry. A small tear seemed to form from the moon's eye and began to drop to the earth. There was a loud crash as the ground shook and Link pulled away from the telescope. "What was that?"

"Almost felt like a meteor…maybe it was a Moon's Tear?" the Professor spoke.

"'Moon's Tear'?" Link asked.

The Professor nodded. "Look here." The Professor set Link down then grabbed a small blue gem out of a glass container. He held it up to Link, and he noticed at once that it looked much like a tear. "On occasion the moon has been…I guess you could say 'crying'… These small gems that look like tears have been falling all over the land. I have dubbed them 'Moon's Tears' because they come from the moon's eyes and look like small tears."

"But…why would the moon be crying?" Link asked.

The Professor shrugged as he stood up and put the tear away. "Maybe it's being dragged down unwillingly?"

"Skullkid…" Link spoke. "He's using the power of the mask to drag the moon down. He wants to destroy this land with the moon, but it doesn't want to…"

"Yes, it is as if the moon is fighting whatever power is dragging it down," the Professor spoke. "I imagine that, if it was not fighting it, the moon would have fallen much quicker…"

"But…what could that mean?"

"It's a conflict…a conflict between the moon and the sun…"

Link looked up at the Professor with a quizative look. "What do you mean?"

"The moon and sun are in constant conflict. One rules the day, while one rules the night. It seems that whatever this force is that is pulling it down draws power from the sun…or rather…represents the sun…In this way, it is using the power of the sun to drive the moon down to the land. This is proven by the way the moon descends. During the day, the moon descends at a slow pace, but during the night, it halts. I've determined…it will fall on the morning of the carnival. When night hits on the carnival's eve, the moon will have only about thirty three yards to descend. With its current rate of descent being at a remarkable sixty-seven yards an hour…this land will be destroyed in about half an hour after the sun rises."

"Half an hour…" Link spoke.

"That sounds about right…" Tatl whispered to Link.

"So then…Majora's Mask is a mask…of the sun?" Link asked as he looked up to Tatl before turning back to the Professor who gave a shrug.

"If that is the evil power driving the moon down…then yes."

Link put his hand to his chin. "Then…why wouldn't he be trying to pull down the sun?"

"Well, his power comes from the sun…the world would be destroyed long before the sun would ever reach our world…which means, he may not get the enjoyment of watching people run scared…"

"He's doing all this just to scare people?"

The Professor nodded. "It's the likely idea. The evil force wants us to be aware of our impending doom. It knows there is no safe haven in our world. When the moons crashes, all will be wiped out. In turn, we have no options but to be afraid. He wants to sow doubt in our hearts…doubt, despair, fear…these things will stop our salvation…"

"Faith," Link spoke as he looked up at the Professor. "Only faith will save us."

The Professor nodded. "But there is no faith…even I, who knows all of this…I don't even have faith…Our world is doomed…" He turned away. "Termina…"

"Excuse me?" Link asked.

"Termina…it's the name of this land…it means 'to pass away' or 'to be destroyed'…or simply 'termination'."

"Why would your land be called something like that?" Link asked.

"Because of our sins…" the Professor sat himself down in a nearby chair and closed his eyes. "The sins of our race long ago…"

Link stepped forward. "Can you…tell me what happened?"

The Professor shook his head. "There is only one now who knows…and it is not me…" He turned to the telescope. "But if you're right…and the moon is being brought down by that imp…then the only one who knows…is also the one who will bring our end…"

Link turned to Tatl. "Skullkid knows?"

"Link, you know what this means…" Tatl spoke. "We have to stop him now more then ever."

Link nodded. "Then let's go. The eve of the carnival at midnight…that gives us two days…"

"But…it's still the first…"

"Which is why it's two. We don't even half a full day left…in fact, the sun is setting as it is. That leaves us with two days, because when night hits on the third day, we have to be ready."

Tatl nodded. "I understand. What are we going to do until then?"

Link looked up for a moment as he thought. "Faith…we'll try to build the people's faith…"

"Wait, before you go," the Professor spoke, "that last Moon's Tear must have hit just outside of this place. Go outside that door and you should see it." He pointed to a nearby door. "Take it then hurry back to town. I think…no…I know…you are our only hope. I…have faith in you…"

Link's eyes went wide at those words. Someone had faith in him? Someone believed he could stop this? He clenched his fist. There was no way he'd let him down now. Someone had faith, and that gave him strength. "Thank you, Professor Shikashi," Link gave a bow and quickly rushed out the door. There, lying in a small crater, was the Moon's Tear just as the Professor had said. He quickly scooped it up, ran back inside, and headed back for Clock Town.

. . .

"Kafei…" Anju spoke as she stared at the ceiling of her room. "Can I really meet you? Will you be able to explain everything?" she turned onto her side and looked at the letter lying on her stand next to her bed. She then looked up at the clock, noticing the time. "It's almost two…"

Anju tossed the blankets off of her and dressed, then stepped out into the inn that was her home. She then began to make her way down the stairs into the main room of the inn.

"This will break her heart!" Anju's Mother shouted and Anju quickly hid behind a wall.

"I know…for Kafei to do something like this…I can only hope it's not true…" a female voice spoke and Anju gasped.

"What's happened?" Anju shouted, jumping out from behind the wall. She now saw who her Mother was talking to. It was Madam Aroma, the wife of the Mayor of Clocktown and the mother of Kafei.

"Anju…" Madam Aroma spoke as she looked at Anju. "Kafei…he might be…at Romani Ranch…"

"What's wrong with that? Cremia is a friend of ours…"

"He may be cheating on you with her…"

"What? There's no way that he-"

"Anju…he went missing about a month ago…" Anju's mother spoke up. "Also, Cremia's last visit was a month ago. That could mean that Kafei went with Cremia…"

"No…I don't believe it at all…" Anju spoke as she stepped back, completely mortified by this news. Tears were again trying to come to her eyes and she fought them back as hard as she could. "He…he would never do something like that…"

"There's no denying that it's a possibility…"

"I won't believe it!" Anju shouted and rushed forward, throwing the door to the inn open.

"Anju!" Anju's Mother shouted, then gave a sigh of defeat. "Well…now she's definitely unhappy about this…"

Anju continued to run once she was out of the inn, making her way through Clocktown until she reached the small pool that many referred to as the Laundry Pool. It was here that she stopped, still attempting to fight back the tears. In front of her was a small bell on a post, and it was here that Kafei had asked her to come in his letter. He had said that if she rang the bell, he would appear and explain everything. However, she didn't have the courage to do it and she sat down on a nearby bench.

"I don't understand, Kafei…what's going on?" Anju asked before closing her eyes.

"Anju!" a voice shouted and Anju quickly looked up. Much to her surprise, a small Deku boy came running up to her.

"A…Deku boy?" Anju asked as she looked at him.

"Hello," the Deku boy smiled and Anju stared at him.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Link. I've been wandering the town trying to bring faith to the people."

Anju looked down. "Faith, huh? That's nice…no amount of faith can help me, though…"

"What's wrong?" Link asked as he stepped up close to her.

"It's…nothing…you're just a child, you wouldn't understand."

Link smirked the best a Deku could. "Try me."

Anju sighed. "My fiancé went missing a month ago…Yesterday I got a letter from him saying that I could meet him here and that he would explain everything. All I had to do was ring that bell." She pointed over at the bell near the bridge.

"Why don't you?"

"I'm afraid…"

"Of what?"

"I'm afraid…I'm going to find out why he disappeared, and then it's going to be bad… There are rumors going around…that Kafei left me for Cremia…"

Link tilted his head. "Never."

"Excuse me?" Anju asked as she looked up at Link.

"Kafei would never leave a beautiful woman like you for someone else! If he really loved you…no way!"

Anju looked away. "What if he doesn't love me, though?"

"That's crazy talk! How could someone not love you? Look at you! You're beautiful!"

"But Cremia…"

"Did Kafei and Cremia ever meet while you two were together?"

"Yes…quite a few times…"

"Did he ever give you a reason to doubt? To believe that he thought she was more beautiful?"

"Well…no…" Anju spoke.

Link folded his arms. "Then why the hell do you think he would just suddenly decide 'Oh damn, Cremia is more beautiful, I've got to ditch Anju'?"

"Well…the rumors…"

"Damn it, Anju!" Link shouted. "Do you really believe that Kafei could leave you for Cremia? Do you really believe a guy could be that shallow? You know what? If he is that shallow…then…fuck him!"

Anju gasped. "Such language for a young boy…"

"I don't care! Fuck him! If he would leave a beautiful woman like you for someone else? Then fuck him! He doesn't love you!"

"I…I guess that's true…"

Link shook his head. "No…I doubt that's true at all. Rumors are rumors, Anju. They have no grounds unless proven. I mean…damn it…that Skullkid is running around the town causing a mess. He's dragging the moon down every day. It's going to crash in the morning two days from now. I'll bet you anything that the Skullkid caused something."

Anju nodded. "You're right…I didn't think about that."

"Ring that damn bell, Anju. Meet with Kafei. You won't regret it."

Anju nodded. "You're right." She stood to her feet and summoned her courage. She rang the bell and after a moment, a nearby door opened. A small boy, looking no older then Link, stepped out wearing a fox-shaped mask. He had shoulder-length blue hair and wore a purple tunic that had various designs over it. A necklace was around his neck that had a charm on the end in the form of a gold and blue bug. "That's…it can't be…"

"Anju!" the boy shouted and quickly rushed over to her. Anju knelt down and the boy smiled behind his mask. "Anju, I've been waiting so long…"

"I…know you…" Anju spoke as she looked him over. She reached up and took the mask in her hand and slowly pulled it away. At first, the boy grabbed hold of it so she couldn't, but after a moment, he let go, letting her pull the mask from his face. "Kafei?" she shouted.

The boy looked down. "It is…"

"What happened to you?"

"The Skullkid…I was celebrating with my friends…and then the Skullkid appeared…he attacked me and turned me into this…"

Tears rolled down Anju's cheeks as she smiled and wrapped her arms around Kafei. "Oh, Kafei, I'm so happy to see you."

Link smiled. "See? I knew it all along," he spoke,

"And what if he had left for Cremia?" Tatl asked.

Link shrugged. "Then she'd have to get over him…but I knew it wasn't true…I had faith…" Link turned. "Come on, there's more still to do."

Tatl nodded. "You know…they look like mother and child…not fiancés…"

"It's Skullkid…" Link shrugged. "We just have to stop him. On the third day at midnight…we'll put an end to this once and for all…"

. . .

The clock struck midnight and Link turned towards the Clock Tower. Fireworks shot up, exploding near the Clock Tower as the whole thing began to shift and change. The clock rose up high, then fell backwards, forming a flat platform at the top. The door to the Clock Tower shook a moment before it slid down, forming a set of stairs that led up to the top of the tower. "This is it…" Link spoke as he stared at the tower. "Time for all of this to come to an end."

"We did a lot of good," Tatl spoke with a smile. "Let's finish this."

Link quickly dived into a nearby Deku Flower and flew up into the air. He held his hands up and flowers sprouted from his hands, forming into two propellers of sorts that allowed him to glide through the air. When he reached the door of the Clock Tower he closed the flowers up, making them vanish. He then landed upon the ground and rushed forward, climbing the stairs up.

"Skullkid!" Tatl shouted.

Skullkid turned. "So, you've come," Skullkid spoke in a rather unnaturally deep voice.

"Skull…kid?"

"Tatl!" Tael shouted as he flew around Skullkid. "Quickly! Swamp, Mountain, Ocean, Canyon! The four who are there, bring them here!"

Skullkid's hand came around and quickly struck Tael hard, knocking him to the ground. "Don't speak out of line, stupid fairy!"

"Skullkid, do you still think we're friends after that?" Tatl shouted.

Skullkid laughed. "Like I care?" He held up Link's ocarina. "Well, anyway, even if you did summon them, they'd be no match for my power." Skullkid let out a rather high pitched scream and the moon above began to shake. "By the power of the sun, by the powers of Hell, I command you, Holy Vessel of Night, descend and destroy this world!" The moon began to slowly descend once more and Skullkid laughed. "You only have a few minutes left, fools!"

"How is this possible?" Tatl asked. "The sun isn't even up yet…how is he using its power?"

"He's using the power of the ocarina! Its magic is fueling his mask, and he's forcing the moon down without the sun's help!"

"We have to stop him!"

Link looked down at himself for a moment before looking back up at Skullkid. "This ends now!" he shouted and formed a bubble of magic in his mouth. He then shot it forward and it hit Skullkid hard, knocking him back a little and making him drop the ocarina. Quickly, Link rushed forward. As the ocarina grew close to the ground, he dived, barely catching it before it struck the ground. "Close…"

Link stood to his feet and looked the ocarina over. When he saw it was not broken, he smiled and looked back up at Skullkid. "You've got your ocarina back, big whoop!" Tatl shouted. "Now what the hell are you going to do about Skullkid?"

Link bit his lip and closed his eyes. "There's only one thing…" he spoke and held the ocarina up to his mouth. Memories flooded into his mind.

. . .

"So, you're really leaving, huh?" a young girl spoke as she turned to look at Link. She was dressed in a pink, halter-style dress. She had long, waist-length, blonde hair and amazing blue eyes. In her hands was a blue ocarina. This was the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda.

Link nodded. "I have to find her," he spoke as he looked down. "I have to know why she left…and where she's gone…"

"Is it really that important, Link?"

Link nodded. "It is."

"I see…" Zelda looked down. "Well, then, take this with you." She held out the ocarina. "When you play it remember that Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom and Time, is watching over you. Please come back one day."

Link nodded. "I will." He took the ocarina and turned as he left.

"I'll wait for you!" Zelda spoke as Link walked off. "I'll always wait for you…"

. . .

"Zelda is waiting for me…I have to save this world…there's only one option…" The ocarina in Link's hand began to glow. "Nayru, Goddess of Time, lend me your strength." In an instant, the ocarina formed into a set of large pipes that wrapped around his body and formed into several small holes at the top.

"What the hell?" Tatl shouted. "Where did you get that instrument?"

Link began to blow into the pipes and at once the area around Link began to feel warp and become distorted. Tatl noticed this and quickly flew into the distortion. Just as she did, Link vanished, taking her with him. In their eyes, they saw time slow to a stop around them. Then, suddenly, it began to move backwards. Tatl watched events that occurred throughout the day begin the change and move backwards, and suddenly, time stopped once again. The next noise she heard was a tick from a clock and instantly time returned to its normal flow. "What…did you do?" Tatl asked as she looked around. "Time has…started over again…"

"Exactly, time has started over, and now we have three days to heal this land," Link spoke as he looked at the ocarina in his hand. "Things have changed…time has rewritten itself…" He looked up at Tatl. "Skullkid no longer has the Ocarina of Time, but that still has not stopped anything. It just means we have a little more time then before."

"What? A day? Two?" Tatl asked.

"Six hours…Skullkid won't be able to use the Ocarina of Time's power to drop the moon, so he'll have to wait until morning on the day of the carnival."

"Six hours…so now we have seventy-two hours instead of sixty-six…"

"What did your brother mean? 'The four who are there, bring them here'?"

"I don't know…but he might have meant something about one of each of the areas outside Clocktown. We'll have to return you to normal first, though."

Link smiled. "Not a problem." He turned, pushing the doors of the Clock Tower open and entering inside to where the Happy Mask Salesman was. "I've got my ocarina. Now turn me back."

The salesman smiled. "I see, very good." Suddenly, a massive organ appeared from nowhere with him sitting upon it. "Listen to the tune I am about to play." The salesman began to play upon the organ and Link listened intently. After a moment, he pulled the ocarina up to his mouth, causing it to form into the pipes once more. He played along with the music and a vision appeared in his mind. A giant Deku was walking away and he was standing courageous, waving to it. When his eyes opened, his face fell off as a mask.

"I'm…" Link spoke as he looked himself over. "I'm back to normal!" He looked back up and the salesman was standing there once more, the organ nowhere to be seen.

"That song heals troubled souls and turns them into masks. It is the Song of Healing. Remember it well."

Link nodded. "I will."

"So, I have fulfilled my side of the bargain, where is my mask?"

Link looked away. "I…don't have it yet…"

The salesman's face shifted in an instant to one of intense anger and he grabbed Link up by the throat and began to shake him. "Do you realize what you have done?" he shouted and Link gripped his hand. "That mask…its evil power is too much to be controlled by mortals! In the hands of that imp…he will destroy everything! Do you think I can continue this? I have already brought you back in time once, and again you have travelled back in time after claiming your ocarina! I cannot keep travelling back in time over and over! This is your last chance!" He dropped Link to the ground.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Link asked as he gasped for breath.

"You don't understand…" the salesman spoke with a growl. "That mask…it was used by an ancient tribe long ago in their hexing rituals. Soon, the ancient ones feared its misuse and they sealed it away…but then…something happened, and it became free once again. It ravished the land and the land became Termina. I did what I had to…I stole the mask before it could do any more harm…but then…on that day…That imp stole it from me!" He slammed his fist into the pendulum of the clock.

"With its powers he will bring about the destruction of this world. The first time, I brought you back because I knew you could stop it…Then you got your ocarina back, and what do you do? You go back in time, so I had to move again. I'm running out of power, and if I have to go back so much as one more time, I won't have any left." He turned back to Link. "You must stop the imp this time, because if you don't, I won't be able to fix it…or did you think that going back in time just undid everything?"

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

"Every time you go back in time, you create another timeline, another pathway. In order to prevent this, I have to go in and for every timeline you leave, I have to destroy it as if it never existed. You see…if I didn't, it would cause such a great cataclysm that all of time, and every dimension, including your precious Hyrule, would be destroyed. You're only hope is to complete the task this time, and complete it right. If you fail…I will not help you again." The salesman turned away and walked off deeper into the Clock Tower.

"Link…if what he said is true…" Tatl began.

Link nodded. "Yeap…we have to save this world this time…we have no other options…" He turned and pushed the doors open once more. Tatl and Link's adventure had now truly begun.


End file.
